FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
November 7, 2025
The Puerto Rican Bar Association (PRBA) expresses its strong support for Senate Bill S.8418 & Assembly Bill A.8883 which propose to divide New York State into additional judicial districts and reallocate Supreme Court justice seats accordingly.
As detailed in the PRBA’s newly released 2025 Report on Latinx Representation and Access to Justice, structural design of judicial districts directly affects who becomes a judge, how communities access the courts, and whether diverse voices are represented on the bench. The data in our Report and the report issued by Justice Sallie Manzanet-Daniels and the Latino Justice Association evidence that Latinx communities continue to remain underserved in key districts and underrepresented in judicial positions statewide.
As such, the proposed expansion and realignment under these bills offers a critical opportunity to modernize New York’s judicial map, improve access for historically overlooked regions, and create pathways for a more inclusive judiciary—especially where demographic growth has outpaced judicial capacity.
While we note that certain state bar associations may be urging legislators to refrain from passing this legislation at this time, the PRBA respectfully disagrees with any such delay. As the PRBA Report points out, such delays must come to an end. In our view, the urgency of addressing under-representation and accessible deficits mandates timely action– S.8418 and A.8883 present workable mechanisms to increase and advance Latinx representation, and reduce geographic and demographic imbalances in the judiciary. Accordingly, the PRBA believes waiting for perfect conditions only risks perpetuating the status quo for yet another decade.
The reforms proposed in these bills align directly with the PRBA’s data-driven policy agenda, and while structural changes without accompanying accountability (diversity metrics, pipeline programs, transparent selection) will not by themselves guarantee results, the time has come for the PRBA to stand ready to partner with the Legislature, courts, bar associations, and community stakeholders to ensure that implementation of this realignment leads to substantive improvements, not just structural ones.
For more information or to receive/download a copy of the full PRBA 2025 Report on Latinx Representation and Access to Justice, please go to PRBA’s website at prabny.com, or contact: [email protected]